Report of the 1998 and 1999 Investigations on the Archaeology and Iconography of the Polychrome Stucco Façade of Structure N10-28, Lamanai, Belize

Section 1: Introduction

During the 1981 and 1982 field seasons of the Royal Ontario Museum’s Lamanai Archaeological Project, a large collection of polychrome fragments of modeled stucco from the upper zone of Structure N10-28 was recovered in a strata of building demolition material. In July of 1998 I conducted an exploratory study of the collection to determine the feasibility of pursuing more intensive archaeological investigations and iconographic analysis. A grant proposal was submitted to the Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies, Inc. (FAMSI) in September of 1998 and approved in December 1998.  This grant was to fund a preliminary analysis of the collection as well as minor excavations on Structure N10-28, which is summarized in this report.

Structure N10-28 is located in Plaza N10-3 (Figure 1:1 and Figure 1:2), an assemblage of elite residential and administrative buildings that date to the Late and Terminal Classic. As the Maya are well known for making numerous architectural modifications to pre-existing buildings, the structure and its façade were partially chopped to make way for later construction during the Terminal Classic. The remains of the façade were strewn about the structure and subsequently buried. The fragments of stucco range in size from less than 2 cm² to a large head of a supernatural measuring some 36 cm long. Numerous anthropomorphic forms and profiles are present, many of which are larger than life size, glyph-like elements, borders, headdress fragments, saurian imagery, supernaturals, and a number of other iconographic motifs and decorative forms. Color is present on virtually all pieces, and includes red, light blue, dark blue, yellow, black, white, green, and orange. Many of these fragments contain specular hematite within the paint. An iconographic and stylistic analysis, when complete, will hopefully provide a significant contribution to Late and Terminal Classic Maya art.

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